Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison held a news conference on Monday, following up on an attempt to hold a “small media roundtable” with select reporters in which no cameras or recording devices were allowed.
The topic that reporters most wanted to address was the controversial Luka Dončić trade that Harrison hadn’t made much of an effort to explain publicly to a fan base outraged by their beloved star being dealt to another team.
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In a surprising admission, Harrison said that he didn’t realize Mavericks fans would react as strongly as they did.
“I knew Luka was important to the fan base,” he said. “I didn’t quite know it to what level.”
“When you have 20,000 people chanting ‘Fire Nico,’ you feel it,” he added later.
Harrison continued to emphasize the notion that Dončić was traded because “defense wins championships” and the Dallas roster was better suited for that after the deal. However, the team that he and the Dallas front office presumably envisioned following the trade was never apparent on the floor due to injuries.
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“The way we looked at it is if you’re putting a team on the floor that’s Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], P.J. [Washington], Anthony Davis and [Dereck] Lively, we feel that’s a championship-caliber team,” he added. “We would’ve been winning at a high level and that would’ve quieted some of the outrage.”
Harrison acknowledged that he and the Mavericks didn’t do a good enough job of communicating with media and fans after trading Dončić, but insisted he didn’t try to avoid speaking to reporters, despite appearances to the contrary.
“Our goal is to never run away from the media,” he said.
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Yet Harrison admitted that the roundtable with reporters “fell flat” and didn’t accomplish what he hoped because it failed to adequately answer questions.
Asked why he shouldn’t be fired, Harrison defended the work he’s done in nearly four years as general manager.
“I think I’ve done a really good job here,” he said, adding that he has a good relationship with team owner Patrick Dumont. “I don’t think I can be judged by injuries this year. You have to be judged in totality from beginning to end.”
Harrison also stated that he wasn’t told by Dumont to trade Dončić to avoid paying him a supermax contract extension that would have totaled $345 million over five years.
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Twice during the news conference, Harrison attempted to begin moving on from the Dončić trade, saying “Luka’s no longer on this team.”
Yet this will hang over him for as long as he keeps his position, especially if Dallas isn’t as successful next season and in years to come. And he surely realizes that.
However, Harrison believes that his vision for the Mavericks will ultimately be realized with a fully healthy roster led by Irving after returning from a torn ACL. Harrison expects Irving to opt in with his $44 million player option for 2025-26.
“I believe winning will help repair the relationship with the fans,” he said.
